MRI Ups Diagnostic Accuracy of Fetal Brain Abnormalities

FRIDAY, Dec. 16, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after a mid-pregnancy ultrasound could help improve diagnosis of possible fetal brain abnormalities, according to a study published online Dec. 14 in The Lancet.

Women selected for this study had undergone an ultrasound at 18 to 21 weeks of pregnancy that detected a potential brain abnormality in the fetus.

In this study of 570 women, ultrasound alone provided a correct diagnosis in 68 percent of cases. Meanwhile, MRI, performed within two weeks of the ultrasound, was accurate in 93 percent of cases, the researchers found. MRI also corrected the initial diagnosis in 25 percent of cases.

“Adding an MRI scan when a problem is detected provides additional information to support parents making decisions about their pregnancy,” lead author Paul Griffiths, Ph.D., professor of radiology at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, said in a journal news release. “Based on our findings we propose that an MRI scan should be given in any pregnancy where the fetus may have a suspected brain abnormality.”